I’m not sure I need to write an introduction for Friends. Anyone who’s owned a TV in the last 30 years has probably caught at least one episode…or knows it through the show’s massive cultural impact that’s still relevant today through quotable gags and memes.
But if you’ve only just now emerged from your underground bunker, I can still give you the basic rundown. The show follows the lives of six twenty-something friends living in New York City as they navigate their careers and relationships. The main cast is composed of Monica (Courteney Cox), a high strung chef, her roommate Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), who is a spoiled but sweet rich-girl-turned-waitress; Ross (David Schwimmer), Monica’s intelligent (arrogant) paleontologist brother; Sarcastic corporate slave Chandler (Matthew Perry) and his charming but dumb aspiring actor roommate, Joey (Matt LeBlanc); Finally, there's ditzy and strange musician Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow).
Through the show’s ten season run, viewers witness the Friends career changes, hijinks, and plethora of hookups and breakups (and breakups, and breakups, and breakups Rachel and Ross, ahem). The final episode of Friends aired over 20 years ago, and while the series has seen reruns and jumped between streaming platforms (4% of Netflix’s total views were from Friends alone when the show landed there in 2015, and now it resides on HBO Max), now the whole series can be owned in stunning 4K Ultra HD. Friends: The Complete Series comes with all 236 episodes and over twenty hours of bonus features.
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| The One Where They Find Jesus. |
Bonus features (contained on 2 Blu-ray discs) are plentiful, but probably only interesting to the most die-hard of Friends fans. Some of the bonus features include a Jeopardy style trivia game, documentaries on the show’s creation and impact, and a really baffling feature called Friends of Friends, which is just context-free, low-quality clips of guest stars from the show…I think? There was no commentary, and while some clips were cameos of big stars who made appearances, others were regularly recurring guests. Maybe a bigger fan than I can piece that one together.
Overall, it’s a fun collection, and it’s nice to know I can always just reach for the boxed set when I get that Friends itch without having to worry about it being yoinked to another streaming service I don’t want to pay for. I don’t think there's anything in this collection that will entice people to start the show for the first time, but those who love Friends will certainly find this to be a great tribute for the series’ 30th anniversary.
EXTRA KIBBLES
AUDIO COMMENTARIES - For select episodes, Seasons 1-10.
FRIENDS OF FRIENDS - Seasons 1-10.
WHAT’S UP WITH YOUR FRIENDS? - Seasons 1-4.
GUNTHER SPILLS THE BEANS… - 1) …About Season 6; 2) …About Next Season (6-9).
TRUE FRIENDS DOCUMENTARIES - Friends from the Start; When Friends Become Family; The Legacy of Friends.
FEATURETTES - Friends from Around the World; The One That Goes Behind the Scenes; Friends on Location in London; Behind the Style: The Look of Friends; Friends Final Thoughts.
FRIENDS: THROUGH THE PEEPHOLE - A new 15-minute retrospective
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR FRIENDS? - A new trivia game.
THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT AND PRODUCERS’ CUT - For The One Where Rachel Tells Ross.
FRIENDS ON THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO - From 2004
FRIENDS VISITS THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW - From 2004-05
THE ORIGINAL BROADCAST “SUPER-SIZED” EPISODES FROM SEASON 7
THE ONE WITH THE NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN GAGS
MUSIC VIDEOS - “I’ll Be There For You”; “Smelly Cat”; “Joey, Joey”; Phoebe Battles the Pink Robots.”
GAG REELS
SEASON 2 TRAILER
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